Oklahoma Judge Okays Use of New Lethal Injection Drug

It’s official: There’s a new drug in the capital-punishment orbit: pentobarbital.

On Friday, Oklahoma federal judge Stephen Friot gave the go ahead to the state’s use of the drug, which has been used to euthanize animals.

The nationwide shortage of thiopental sodium, the longtime go-to anesthetic in capital punishment, has forced states to try to come up with alternatives. The Oklahoma ruling, lawyers said, could prompt other states to use pentobarbital. (Here’s a WSJ article on the latest development in the months-long saga surrounding the mechanics of how states will carry out capital punishment.)

In Oklahoma, defense lawyers have claimed that pentobarbital is unproven . . .